Chris Dittmann Racing was in Kent at the weekend (September 28/29), with a three-car line up of debutant Tom Mills, James Hedley, and Seb Murray contesting the final rounds of the GB3 Championship at Brands Hatch.

After free practice on Friday around the Indy circuit, there was a shorter extra session on Saturday morning on the Grand Prix layout, to give everyone a final few laps to familiarise themselves with the full circuit, as testing is limited.

Shortly after it was time for qualifying where all three cars showed their quick pace in the opening stages of the session. However, a red flag disrupted things with a few minutes to go and when the green flag came back out for a short final blast, James finished 13th, Seb 15th, and Tom 19th.

The opening race of the weekend was off to a rocky start for James who had to pit on lap one after his steering wheel display went blank. On his debut, Tom was the leading Chris Dittmann Racing car making up two positions while sadly, Seb just behind began to suffer an issue with his gearbox. Tom was first to cross the line in 14th, Seb impressively finished the race nursing his mechanical issue in 15th, and James drove well, fighting back to take the flag 18th.

On Sunday morning the trio jumped back in the car for the penultimate race where Tom made up two places on the first lap, but Seb had a coming together with another car and had to pit for a new front wing. Unfortunately, James was collateral damage when two cars came together ahead of him, being sent off unable to continue the race. After a brief Safety Car period Tom was holding his own, defending from the cars behind to finish 13th, while Seb did well to bring the car home 18th.

On Sunday afternoon it was time for the final race of the season, which was off to a slow start after a Safety Car was called on the opening lap. When racing was back underway Seb made a move on the car ahead and was up to 13th, just behind James. In a relatively quiet contest, the chequered flag came out for the final time in 2024 as Seb and James held their positions across the line whilst Tom finished 17th.

While the final weekend didn’t yield the results the team or drivers wanted, there were good displays hampered by some bad luck which could not have been foreseen. The focus for the team is now on the final races in the F4 British Championship, which also take place at Brands Hatch, this coming weekend (October 5/6).

Seb Murray – #91

G1 – 15, R1 – 15
G2 – 15, R2 –18
G3 – 15, R3 – 13

Championship: 18 (111 points)

“It’s been a bit of a tricky round and not the way I wanted to end the season. We’ve had a lot of mechanical issues this season as a whole, and this round wasn’t any different. The pace was definitely there but I’ve not got much experience at Brands Hatch. We had pace at the start of the week but then I had a gearbox issue in race one which made me fall to the back of the pack and then race two, I had a coming together at the start, which, once again destroyed the result of the race. Race three was a bit better as I had a decent start and made a couple positions up, but it’s just been a bit of an unlucky season. I’ve learned loads since the first round at Oulton and there are lots of positives to take out of the year and I’ve really enjoyed the experience.”

Tom Mills – #43

G1 – 19, R1 – 14
G2 – 19, R2 – 13
G3 – 19, R3 – 17

“I very much enjoyed racing this weekend as it’s an amazing car to drive. I was looking good in testing in the wet, but I’ve always been lacking that little bit in the dry against everyone else’s experience, so I knew it was going to be tough to stay with them. I was happy with the first two races, as I made some progress and a few good moves. In the last race I struggled a little bit with the balance and learning dirty air for the first time as I hadn’t been that close to another car before, so lost a position trying to work that out. Overall, it’s been an amazing opportunity to drive the car and an experience I’m going to remember. The team have been very welcoming, and they worked so hard preparing all three cars, so I can’t thank them enough.”

James Hedley – #2

G1 – 13, R1 – 18
G2 – 12, R2 – DNF
G3 – 13, R3 – 12

“It’s not been the weekend that we would have liked or hoped for. We’ve been unlucky on lots of counts which is a shame, but at least we finally got a race at the end. I’m super grateful to be here – it was a great opportunity and it’s a bit of a what could have been situation. I’ve been doing some test days with Chris, and it was about time we raced together. We know what we are capable of, so when the right ingredients come together, I’m sure we can go in for a good result. I wish the team all the best for the future and who knows maybe I’ll be back with them again soon.”